Volume 4 - CH 18

Act 4-18: A Chance to Fall From The Grace

One of the luxurious rooms in Babel tower.

A brawny old man clad in a green robe was lying in his chair.

「How’s the plan progressing? 」

He asked another green-robed man with slit eyes kneeling in front of him.

「That pitiful girl and the spear king have been arranged to be in the same team as the poisonous wasp.」

「The A-rank criminal, eh. Are you sure that’ll be enough to kill the spear king? 」

Hearing the old man’s question, the slit-eyed man spread his arms with a serious look on his face,

「The spear king is strong only if you fight him fairly.」

And declared so.

「So, you’re going to make the full use of the difference between their combat experiences? 」

「Yes. The current spear king is nothing more than an inexperienced greenhorn. Poisonous wasp should be able to kill him with ease, not to mention that girl called Lumine.」

When then the slit-eyed old man said so while casting a glance toward the white-haired beauty clad in snow-like white vestment,

「This should be enough, right Cardinal-dono?」

Asked the old man without bothering to beat around the bush.

「Yes, my heartfelt gratitude for your cooperation, vice headmaster-sama.」

The cardinal smiled as she bowed to the old man.

「Are you really certain about the elimination of the spear king? The overall strength of the hero party will be greatly reduced if you eliminate the spear king, which in return will affect the war with the demon race too. Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea, may I hear the reason?」

「Don’t worry~. Even without the likes of the spear king, Hero-sama as she is right now can exterminate the demon race. The reason we are doing this is that we took all possible futures into consideration.」

「You mean that the hero will become too powerful if they have the spear king, are you trying to say that the hero’s power will harm humankind after they finish their job to exterminate the demon race?」

Hearing the vice headmaster’s inquiry, the cardinal nodded,

「Hero without monster or demon race is nothing more than a lump of power. If we’re not careful, she might become the second demon king. Thus, we’ve to control her by all means. And to do that――」

She spoke really carefully, like reading a hymn with her clear and transparent voice.

「Does that mean the spear king’s power is too much for the hero in case she betrays humanity?」

「Exactly. There’s no need to worry about the hero for now. This is just one of our safety measures. That’s why it doesn’t really matter even if this plan fails. But, you’ve got to eliminate the girl called Lumine at all costs.」

The man with a determined look on his face shuddered upon hearing the obvious thorn in the usually gentle woman’s remark.

「Why does it sound like the spear king is just a freebie? Why does the big-shot of the church go so far just to get rid of the holder of gibberish 【Tenraku Jinsei】 gift with no clear effect?」[TL : 転落人生(tenraku jinsei), literally translated as Falling Life. Honestly, I have no idea what’s this means. But if we go by the theme of this novel, it might be related to going against destiny or god.]

「It just doesn’t sit well with our creed. That’s all you need to know.」

Cardinal said so as she revealed a forced laugh.

「Speaking of, if it doesn’t sit well with creed, there’s also an apostate with a joke-like gift called 【The Most Incompetent in This World】 amongst the examinees. If it just as you say, that girl isn’t the only one who doesn’t sit well with your creed, right?」

「Further inquiry means blasphemy toward our father, clear?」

The cardinal returned the old man’s question with another question as she smiled at the latter.

「Hah! So, you’re trying to kill me huh? Whether it’s squabble or war, we shall do it thoroughly! 」

The vice headmaster declared so with a battle-junkie smile on his face as he stood up, glaring toward the seemingly exhausted cardinal.

「So you’re selling a fight to us? then, it can’t be helped.」

The cardinal’s eyes shone red, as white smoke came out from her feet.

「Calm down Pandora-sama, you’re not here today to partake in a quarrel, right?」

The white-haired youth wearing a white vestment forced his way between the two while brushing his hair with his fingers.

Pandora’s eye colour changed as she heard the remark, returning to the usual amber colour, and her face made an unemotional, doll-like smile.

The vice headmaster clicked his tongue and took back his seat.

「Well, I shall excuse myself.」

「Bye-bye~」

Seeing there was nothing left to say, the white-haired youth and the cardinal excused themselves from the room.

「Humph! Fox bi*tch!」

The vice headmaster cursed as he tapped his finger on the desk,

「How’s the matter of handling those incompetents proceeding?」

He asked the man with slit eyes.

「It went according to plan. They went to the appointed location along with Somni Barrel’s team.」

「That idiot prince is truly a troublesome one. But it can’t be helped, I received a huge amount of donations from the idiotic nobles of that kingdom after all. I can’t just ignore it.」

He then opened the drawer and took out a black cane along with a piece of paper, and read the contents out aloud.

「Pathetic bas*tard. The incompetent who disrespected the prince aside, to think that he went as far as disposing of the guardian knight who failed to protect him…」

The man with slit eyes shrugged his shoulders as he shook his head.

「Yes. But, weaklings are just worthless pieces of garbage. All the more so when it’s a knight, they’re nothing but a hindrance. At this point, I’m no different from that prince.」

The vice headmaster nodded lightly as he muttered so.

「Survival of the fittest… eh.」

「Yeah. That’s why the brat called Somni, who has never experienced the harshness of the world will die this time.」

「Definitely.」

Thus, he threw the paper as if he wasn’t interested in the matter anymore, and started discussing Tower’s government.

There is a saying that a huge mountain looks small from afar, which might cause him to let his guard down. Or else, he might simply never experience it itself.

It was a trivial matter. But, the pitiful lambs(them) had yet to realize just what kind of being they were trying to mess with.

Babel’s tower with its vast power, the central church, and the existence of X who always looked down on this world from above, every single one of them had yet to realize that they would receive a terrifying slap on their triumphant face after they provoke the most bizarre and dangerous monster in this world.